Reviewing BOYNEXTDOOR’s Debut Album WHO!

BOYNEXTDOOR is a new boy group from HYBE under KOZ Entertainment owned by BLOCK B member and soloist Zico. This comes with extremely high expectations. From its teasers, BOYNEXTDOOR promised to be a fresh air amidst the current boy group landscape. But did it live up to its hype?

But I Like You

At 2 minutes and 29 seconds, ‘But I Like You’ threatens to succumb to the current tiktokfication of music. Often, songs this short feel unfinished or unable to fulfill its full potential. This is what I feel about ENHYPEN’s recent ‘Bite Me’. However, ‘But I Like You’ feels like it has run its course.

The way the verses are written play around with a typical melodic structure, as the it doesn’t sound resolved before it repeats the same melody at around 0:29. This gives it an unfinished feeling that leads the listener to pique their intrigue and keep listening, as well as give the illusion that the singers have something more to say. What also helps is how catchy the melody is. Additionally, the song completely forgoes a pre-chorus, which is quite atypical from most K-pop songs. Hence, when it jumps into the chorus, it almost parallels the feeling of having feelings for someone so strong that one can’t wait to let it out, which is echoed by how the production blooms in the chorus. I find it pretty fascinating and effectively executed.

The chorus is very strong. I’m surprised by its potency, considering how I wasn’t completely enamored when I first listened to it. Among the 3 songs in the debut album, ‘But I Like You’ sports the strongest hooks all-round.

The second verse was also effectively written to give something different from the first verse and show more of the capabilities of the group itself, which was done through the addition of a great rap verse that did not kill any of the song’s momentum. By the time the last choruses come around, I’m taken with the song.

The group’s members make use of an almost 2nd Gen reminiscent vocal delivery throughout. This particular way of singing is not natural, and when overused, can be damaging to the member’s voices especially if they sing too many of the higher notes. However for the song, I have to admit that it works in delivering the song’s charms. This way of vocal delivery does help them stand out among other groups, no other 4th gen boy group sounds like them right now.

All in all, ‘But I Like You’ is a strong debut track, and acts as an effective opener to the album.

Hooks – 9
Production – 8
Vocal Delivery – 9
Rap Delivery – 10
Overall – 9

One and Only

‘One and Only’ is easily my favorite song from the album. When I first listened to it, I had this gut feeling that this will be one of the most iconic songs from this year’s array of K-pop. This might be quite a stretch to say, but the way this song was executed was so satisfying that I’m not sure if there will be anything quite like it any time soon.

‘One and Only’ is a song that doesn’t take itself seriously from its lyrics, to its playful production and its vocal delivery. The attitude in which the members perform the song really help sell its concept to its maximum potential.

There are two main hooks that keep the song together, the chorus and its pre-chorus. The chorus is extremely catchy, and the way certain consonants and vowels were emphasized in in the vocal delivery help make it absolutely memorable. It is admittedly one of my favorite choruses of the whole year. The pre-chorus nicely leads into the chorus with a melody that sounds very fresh, echoed by its lyrics and production.

I’m more fond of the production of ‘One and Only’ compared to ‘But I Like You’. They are both good, but the noticeable use of the dynamics in ‘One and Only’ really take it to the next level. The addition of silence, removing any sort of melody at certain parts, and particularly, the tempo increase in the chorus makes an incredible difference in conveying the charm of the song and making it memorable. The latter in particular, while subtle, really help make the song much more engaging if you try envisioning it within. One can see that every single choice in the production is well-thought-of. By the time I reach the end, it feels like the song has fulfilled itself. For what the nature of the song is, and what it aimed to do, I don’t think that its production could have been done any better.

Hooks – 9
Production – 10
Vocal Delivery – 9
Rap Delivery – 9
Overall – 9.25

Serenade

By the time ‘Serenade’ was released, I was quite one board on the hype train, having been impressed with their first 2 pre-releases. Unfortunately, at first listen, I was not very impressed.

I think one of my main pet peeves about the song is that their vocal delivery, while used effectively in the first two songs, feels excessive and almost forced in this song. I know it is their signature sound, but here, it feels almost borderline grating. I think that there were moments were I think it reached the balance which I was looking for, but there were not many.

Additionally, I question some of the production choices, which feels outlandish and almost over-the-top. It is almost annoying how these moments were also paired with the over-the-top vocal delivery, which made my annoyance only amplify. I think there could have been better ways ways to balance the vocal delivery with the production to produce a more appealing results.

Funnily enough, even though I couldn’t remember anything about the song at the first listen, its strongest moments are its hooks. The melodies are quite pleasant, if not somewhat underdeveloped. The best moment is the chorus leading into its post chorus, which does sound quite romantic actually.

I can see what they were going for, and honestly, I would have liked it a lot more if the whole song was approached in a slightly different manner. They got it right in ‘But I Like You’ and ‘One and Only’, but ‘Serenade’ is a miss.

Hooks – 8
Production – 6
Vocal Delivery – 7
Overall – 7.25

Overall Rating of the Album – 8.5